Flashlights are expected to provide reliability in their primary function of area illumination. Reliable functionality is particularly important for the military and first responders such as police officers, firefighters, and other emergency service personnel who are expected to discharge their duties regardless of the conditions in which they find themselves. Many military, first responder, and other professionals carry their flashlights whenever they are on duty and may use them for any number of tasks in addition to area illumination even though their flashlights may not be well suited for such tasks. Accordingly, improvements are needed to provide additional functionality to flashlights.